High Number of Mosquitos in Benton County

NBCRightNow.com -- High counts of mosquitos are being tracked in certain areas of Benton County and the mosquito control district is working to lower the numbers.

The district has already been spraying from the air. If you get a notice a phone call or letter, you should stay inside during the spraying and bring pets in as well.

So far in 2013, no cases of West Nile Virus have been detected in the samples the control board collects every day. But, the first wave of mosquitos this spring is much larger than normal.

"We're seeing large numbers. We did an aerial flight in some of the area that had very high numbers. We completed that last night so we're hoping that will bring those numbers back down to a comfortable level," said Angela Beehler with Benton County Mosquito Control.

The control district says the mosquitos we see later in the summer, from July to August, are the species that are more likely to carry the west nile disease. So, controlling the population now may prevent people from contracting the disease later in the season.